


Mean Gals

by jell_0_shot



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 06:37:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4511664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jell_0_shot/pseuds/jell_0_shot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Parks and Recreation High School Au. Leslie Knope has been moving cities all throughout her life. When she gets to Pawnee she meets a cute nerd called Ben Wyatt and befriends the "most popular bitches at school", so which side will she pick?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mean Gals

Leslie Knope was no stranger to moving. So far, she’d lived in twelve States and attended fourteen different schools. She was a traveller; she was only temporary.

Friendship didn’t come easily for someone who had such a nomadic mother. Sure, her peers usually respected her, but they tended to steer clear outside of group projects. While other kids her age were flipping magazines and partying, she was entering feminist essay competitions. She was intense for a sixteen year-old; she’d had her entire career planned out by the time she was nine.

First days barely phased her anymore, so she walked into Pawnee High with the same level of enthusiasm and confidence that she always carried. This school would be the same as any other; she’d breeze in, become president of the debate team, then breeze out.

Her first class was history. The teacher was a tall man with thinning hair and a faded shirt. He introduced her to the class and told her to choose a seat. There were only a handful left so she picked the one closest to her, a few rows from the front. The desks seated two people. A mousey-haired boy buried in a book was next to her, and he lifted his head as her chair leg scraped the lineal. Their eyes met and he smiled at her, shyly.

“Hi, I’m Leslie. Leslie Knope.” She extended her hand.

He wiped his before he shook hers, “Ben Wyatt.”

He returned to his book and they didn’t speak for the rest of the lesson, but Leslie could feel a weird energy between them. She was more interested in grades than boys, but when Ben’s eyes locked hers, when his palm was against hers; it was stirring something inside of her that she didn’t know how to process. He’s cute, she told herself, but he’s just another silly boy.

~ ~ ~

One of Leslie’s first-day rituals was to seek out a lonely tree and make it hers. Pawnee High didn’t have many to choose from, but she managed to find one far enough away from the cafeteria that she could have some peace. She’d just taken her notepad out when three girls approached her.

“That’s our tree.” The girl was slim and shiny and had perfect hair. The two flanking her were equally as shiny, but one of them had less perfect hair. She squinted up at them. Their firm stares confirmed that they were, in fact, serious. She grabbed her bag and started to get up.

“Sorry, I didn’t know. I’m new here.” She smiled at them and turned to start her search again. She could hear the three girls whispering behind her.

A perfectly manicured hand grabbed her shoulder, “Wait, I’m sorry, that was rude. My name is Sara, and these are my friends, Lucy and Ann. We’re totally, like, the most popular bitches at school.” She smiled at Leslie. “Do you want to join us for lunch?”

Leslie assessed the three girls; Sara’s plucked eyebrows were raised awaiting her reply, Lucy was smiling and waving at her from the grass that blanketed the bottom of the tree, and Ann was quietly setting out a container filled with carrot sticks on the ground. Her eyes narrowed, but they seemed nice enough. 

“Sure.”

Sara spent the entire break giving Leslie a complete run-down of the school. Leslie nodded along, pretending to care. She was focusing on the little things; how Sara’s words felt like silk, the way the tree looked with four bodies at its feet rather than just one, the slight roll of Ann’s eyes every time one of the other two said something obnoxious. Ann didn’t say a single word to her the entire time. Leslie liked her the best.

The school bell interrupted Leslie’s internal analysis and finally put a stop to Sara’s rambles about who got to what base with who. Leslie stood up and waved goodbye, thanking them for making her feel welcome.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Sara smiled, linking her arm with Leslie’s. Leslie looked down at their knocking elbows as they all walked her to the next class. Just like when she met Ben, she didn’t recognise this feeling either. 

“So, have you seen any cute boys yet?” Lucy’s eyes were devilish, hungry for gossip. Leslie’s face reddened, causing the girls to squeal in excitement. Even Ann perked up.

Leslie was confused. There were so many other things that they could talk about, but she knew they wouldn’t give up until she told them. She figured a joke about Joe Biden would go straight over their heads.

“Well, there was this kind of cute guy in my history class.” All three faces were looking at her expectantly, “His name was…um…Ben Wyatt, I think.” She smiled meekly. Something about these girls were making her insecure when she was normally so headstrong and confident.

Sara stopped walking and grabbed Leslie’s wrist, forcing her to stop too. She fixed her eyes on Leslie’s.

“Oh no, honey, no. Ben Wyatt is probably the biggest nerd in our year.” She drew her in closer and lowered her voice, “Last year, he cried during food tech because the teacher wouldn’t let him make calzones instead of pizzas. That would be social suicide.” She twirled her fingers through Leslie’s rough curls.

“You are so lucky to have us helping you.” Lucy gave her a sympathetic smile.

Leslie felt off as she found a seat in her science class. She still thought Ben was cute, but Sara’s warning was etched into her mind. He really cried over calzones? They weren’t even that great. In fact, they were actually pretty pointless. She sighed and refocused on the lesson; it was her first day and she was already being sucked into everything she usually tried to avoid.


End file.
